Tony Hart's TV shows – from Vision On and Take Hart to Hart Beat and Smart Hart – inspired generations of budding artists to raid their mum's store cupboard for the macaroni and lentils needed to create colourful montages.

Hart also introduced arguably the best sidekick created for any kids' television show: Morph. The animated clay character, who lived in a pencil box, joined Hart in 1977. His enthusiastic and bizarrely expressive squeaks made him a much-loved figure in homes throughout the country, right from this first episode of the Amazing Adventures of Morph.

In a 2008 interview in the Times, Hart explained that he wanted to make his television art "accessible to all, rich or poor", adding that "without exception children love to draw". He believed anyone could draw, regardless of their talents. That may or may not be true, but thanks to Hart many of us at least felt inspired to try.